Patriots Beat: Brady, Manning the lead actors in made-for-TV drama

Sunday's AFC Championship Game is that if-everything-falls-correctly matchup, the one imagined the moment Peyton Manning signed in Denver in 2012 followed by Wes Welker joining the party in 2013.

By Tim Whelan Jr.Daily News staff

FOXBORO — There's sure to be some pomp. Maybe even a little circumstance thrown in as well.Sunday's AFC Championship Game is that if-everything-falls-correctly matchup, the one imagined the moment Peyton Manning signed in Denver in 2012 followed by Wes Welker joining the party in 2013.Last year, plans fell through with one misstep by Rahim Moore and one flick of Joe Flacco's wrist. This time, in a 32-team league that makes dream matchups all the more difficult to bring to fruition, we got the marquee matchup that we most wanted.Well, at the very least, the football public has gotten the meeting that is wrought with the most feverish anticipation."Just to get to the point of playing for an AFC Championship, it is not very easy to make it to this game," Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich said Thursday.Ninkovich is one of 88 players who will suit up in Denver without the name "Brady" or "Manning" on his back. Once the game begins, it will be football as normal, with far, far more than just the play of two quarterbacks deciding the fates of the teams involved.But in a game with already inherently major magnitude, the parties involved make it all the more riveting.In this age of catching up on television in a binge-worthy fashion, the Brady/Manning Collection needs to be packaged and sold, a 15-part epic miniseries that would be a Netflix hit. It would be perfect for, say, those sent home sick, as Brady was Wednesday. "House of Cards" could wait.This is an inter-divisional, intra-conference rivalry not seen since the days of the 49ers and Cowboys renewing acquaintances on a yearly basis. There's some added spice with Denver involved. Traditionally, a trip to the Rocky Mountains has been perilous for Brady (2-4 all-time in Denver) and, historically, for the Patriots (9-18 all-time, 0-2 postseason). John Elway was a big reason for that, and he has now moved into the executive's chair to oversee the performance of the best Broncos quarterback since himself.There's a reason that last week's Patriots/Colts contest was not billed as a rivalry game, but this Sunday's event is. One of the rival's headliners moved west, from the flat landscape of Indiana to the majestic mountains of Colorado.The Magic/Bird comparison is appropriately thrown around quite a bit when it comes to No. 12 vs. No. 18. But think of it in an alternate universe where Magic Johnson joined the Nuggets at the end of his career, then was joined by Danny Ainge. Then, the Nuggets met the Celtics in the NBA Finals.Magic — err, Manning — dished out verbal props to his adversary this week."I think the one thing that jumps out about Tom is just his consistency," said Manning, whose teams are just 4-10 against Brady-led squads (5-10 vs. Belichick). "I feel like he's been a better player each year than he was the year before, and that, to me, speaks to his work ethic in the offseason, his refusal to be complacent or satisfied."Brady's well-documented run to fame went a bit differently than that of Manning, the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. He was Archie's son, a high school star in New Orleans before heading to Tennessee, where he started as a freshman in 1994 and has been mentioned among the game's greats since.The only shame in this Round XV of Brady vs. Manning is that the two have shared a conference for their entire careers, never allowing for the possibility their teams meet on the game's ultimate stage.Sunday's super bowl before the Super Bowl will have to do. Not that Brady is getting caught up in the salaciousness of superb signal-callers trading possessions."I appreciate playing great football teams and (Manning's) a great leader for that team," Brady said Friday before the team flew to Denver. "This game is about the Broncos and the Patriots. I know that they have a great quarterback on the other side of the ball."Right, right. There will be all those other guys wearing uniforms, like Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno, who ran for 224 yards against the Patriots despite not hitting 100 in any other game this season. Or LeGarrette Blount, a one-man wrecking crew who has scored eight touchdowns in the last three games. They are but two of the myriad "Best Supporting Actor" candidates to be on display at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.The leading roles, though, those are for the 36- and 37-year-olds with certain colleagues who were born when they were in high school. There are only so many kicks at the can left.So does Brady have fun trading proverbial punches with Manning?"I enjoy playing football," he said bluntly.And we enjoy watching.Tim Whelan Jr. can be reached at 508-626-4402 or twhelan@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @thattimwhelan.